What We Do For Family
by stella brillare
Summary: Two twin girls, one happily married couple. The adventures a homicide detective and her mystery writing husband go through with Torri Jayde and Johanna Marie. Used to be TJ and Jo
1. Chapter 1

"Beckett." the detective said into the phone, and leaned back in her chair. Only being able to hear half of the conversation, the people in the 12th were confused as to who she was talking to.

"..Yeah, that's fine." she bit her lip, as she wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"..Alright, thanks." she hung up her phone, a smile on her face.

Putting the paper she had written on in her pocket, she walked over to the Captain office. Luckily, they had gotten a new captain, and they didn't have Gates. The new captain was a blonde, and went by Mises, and she was very understanding. She was like, a female version of Montgomery, which was great for Detective Beckett, considering who she had just gotten off the phone with.

After she had talked to the captain, she grabbed her jacket and looked over at her partners, Detective Ryan and Detective Esposito. "Espo, Ryan. I'm gonna be gone for the rest of the day, call me if we get a body." she told them, walking over to the elevator before they could question where she was going.

About fifteen minutes later, she was back at the apartment where she was living. And she wasn't living alone. She was living with her husband, also known as the famous author, Richard Castle.

"Hey, Castle, you need to stop writing." She called as she walked into his office, as she called it, even though it was more of a study. "I got _the_ call at the precinct. That's why I'm back. I told her we'd meet her in about" she checked the time on her phone. "Twenty minutes. So, we gotta go."

Castle smiled at her, closing his laptop. "Are you ready for this?" he asked her, putting his arm around her waist, and lead her out of the study.

"Absolutely. What about you?" She asked him, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack, and tossing it to him.

"you bet I am." he said with a smirk as he put on his brown jacket.

They walked out of the apartment building, and into a cab. After giving the cabbie the directions, they sat back, and watched the city pass by them.

After about a fifteen minute ride, they paid the cab fare and got out of the cab. Kate took a deep breath, taking her husbands hand.

"Nervous?" he asked her.

"Just a tad." she admitted to him. He smiled at her, and walked into the red brick building. Walking up a spiral staircase, and down a short hallway, they were at the door they needed to be at.

He knocked on the half open door, and took a step in.

"Oh! Mr. Castle! Your here, and just in time." a blonde said from behind the desk inside the room. She walked out and leaned on the front of her desk, and Beckett walked inside the room.

"Are you guys ready to meet them?" the blonde asked the couple.

Beckett grabbed Castle's hand and smiled.

"Yes, Kiana, we're ready."

"Alright then. I'll be back in a bit." Kiana (The blonde) walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"This is it." Beckett said, butterflies flying around her stomach.

"I know it is." Castle responded, kissing his wife's forhead.

"I love you, you know that right?" Beckett said, looking up into his blue eyes.

"Well, I do know." Castle joked, kissing Beckett softly. Shaking her head, she walked over to a red chair and sat down, bouncing her knee out of nerves.

After about two minutes, but seemed like forever, they heard a knock on the door. Kate stood up, and walked over next to her husband, taking a gasp when she saw Kiana walk in with two brunette girls. Their hair was in loose curls over their shoulders. They didn't look curled, it looked more natural, but it could have just been done to look that way. One was in a light blue sun dress with white shoes, the other in a hot pink dress, with the same shoes.

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle. This is Torri Jayde and Johanna Marie." Kiana said, standing up straight. Beckett put her hand over her mouth, and leaned into Castle's chest.

"They're perfect." she whispered. "How old are they?" She asked Kiana, straightning herself.

"They're 18 months old. " Kiana said with a smile. "If you come over here, we can get the paper work done, and you can take them on home?"

Castle and Beckett nodded, and walked over to the desk, and sat in the two chairs across from where Kiana would sit. Kiana set the two girls down on a couch next to the wall, and walked over to her chair, pulling the papers out from her desk.

"Alright, now just sign here" Kiana pointed to a line on the bottom of the page "and we'll be done, and they'll be yours" Beckett looked up at Castle, a smile on her face, before she signed "Kate Beckett" on the last line, and slide the paper over, so that her husband could sign as well. After he had signed, he had slide the paper back over to the blonde sitting across from him.

"Congratulations, guys. You are now parents to Torri Jayde, and Johanna Marie! Oh, but you might want to know that before their parents were killed in that subway crash a few weeks ago, they were referred to as TJ and Jo. At least that's what the daycare worker told us." Kiana said, as Kate and Rick walked over to the couch, and picked up the girls, who were now sleeping.

Being extra careful as they walked down the steps, they walked to the closet, Kiana following them. When they got to the door, they turned around to face Kiana.

"Thank you so much." Kate said, smiling.

"It's not a problem, so long as these two grow up in a stable environment." Kiana said, running her hand through Torri's hair.

"It really means a lot." Castle said. Kiana smiled and nodded.

"Well, I have a lot of work to do, I'll check in on you guys in about a week." she said, and then turned around on her heel, and walked back up the stairs.

"Hey, we're by the precinct, we should go tell them about these two beautiful girls." Kate said, as Johanna began to stir in her arms.

Castle nodded. "Looks like she's waking up." he said, gesturing with his elbow. Kate smiled, and began walking down the street. They passed about four buildings before they got to the precinct. Walking inside to the elevator, Kate couldn't stop smiling, she had just adopted beautiful twin girls. One who was named Johanna, just like her mother.

When the elevator stopped, they walked out and over to where Ryan and Espositio sat doing anything but work.

"Ryan! Espo!" Castle said, as TJ sat sleepily up in his arms.

"Hey.. Castle.. Beckett." Esposito said, a confused tone in his voice.

"I don't wanna sound rude or anything, but why do you two have.." he trailed off, gesturing to the girls.

"That's why I left earlier. We decided to adopt these two." Beckett said, smiling down at Johanna.

"That's great, Becks! Castle." Ryan said with a smile.

Beckett smiled at Castle, moving Johanna from her left hip to her right. Her life really couldn't get any better than it was right now. She had a great job, a great husband, and now, she had two beautiful daughters.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>

**So, I have no idea how the adoption process works, so, if it's wrong, PLEASE let me know. This is just a random idea that popped in my head. I wrote it in about two hours on tumblr, and then decided to post it here. It isn't my best work. **

**I don't know if I want to continue this or not.. I mean, I'm working on "Are You Sure" still.. Maybe I'll take a hiatus from that, (seeing as I don't know what to write next now that I changed the outline in chapter three. That probably wasn't the best idea.) and work on this story? You guys let me know if you want to see more of little TJ and little Jo? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! So, I decided to continue this, and I'm taking a hiatus from "Are you sure" for a bit, because I like writing this a lot more. This chapter took me two hours to write. So, I hope you enjoy. Links to the dresses will be posted on my Profile. **

**Reviews are loved. **

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><p>[8 months later.]<p>

"Boo" the toddler said as she walked along the couch to her adoptive mother sitting on the couch reading. Smiling, Kate Beckett closed her book and picked up the little girl.

"Hey, you." she said, as she set the girl on her knee, brushing her hair out of her face.

"TJ?" the little girl asked, with a sad face. Kate frowned slightly and picked her phone off the arm of the couch, checking the time.

"She should be back soon. I promise." she replied, kissing Johanna's forehead. "Why don't we go get you ready to go to dinner, alright?" she stood up, adjusting Johanna to rest on her left hip, and walking to the stairs.

"Tonight, we're going to have dinner with Alexis and Ashley. You remember them, don't you?" the detective asked the brunette girl as she opened the door to the twins' room. Jo nodded as Kate set her down, and walked over to the closet, pulling out two outfits that she was fond of. One was a teal-ish color with some white on it, the other was a black top, and a light red bottom.

"Which one, kiddo?" she asked, holding them both up.

"Dis!" Johanna said, grabbing the bottom of the black and red outfit.

Kate smiled as she hung the teal dress back up, and kneeled down to Johanna's height. "TJ can wear the other one."

As she slipped the top over Johanna's head, she sighed. "Want me to do your hair like mine?" she asked the little girl.

Johanna shook her head. "up!" she said. Kate smiled, and stood up straight, taking her hand.

"Alright. We can do that." She walked out of the room, turning off the light as she did, and crossed the hall to her room. Setting Jo on the bed, she turned to her dresser, grabbing a comb and a red hair band off of it.

As she started combing through her daughters hair, she heard the door close downstairs.

"Kate?" she heard Castle call from downstairs.

"Up here!" she called, as she took a small section of Jo's hair and put the band around it.

"Hey you two." Castle said from the doorway. Kate turned and smiled.

"Hey. We have to meet Alexis in a half hour. So can you get TJ ready? We can talk about how it went on the way." Beckett said, setting Jo on the floor.

"I sure can. I assume you've already picked out her outfit?" Kate nodded, and walked back across the hall. She grabbed the dress she had picked out, and handed it to Castle. She then walked over to the girls' dresser, and grabbed a pair of white tights out of the top dresser, and tossed them to him.

"White shoes." she said, as she grabbed a pair of red socks out of the dresser. Before turning around, she opened a small box on top of the dresser, and grabbed a small red bow out of it. She closed the box, and then the dresser drawer, and turned on her heel.

"Just leave her hair flat, she likes it best like that. Make sure to comb through it, though." Kate said, walking out of the room.

"That woman is controlling." Castle whispered to TJ, as he set her down on her bed to get her ready.

Kate walked across the hall, to find Johanna playing in her closet. "Jo..." she said, in an aggravated voice. Picking the little girl up and setting her back on the bed, she put the bow in her hair, on top of the little pony-tail she had put in before. She slide the red socks on the little girls feet, and put her on the floor.

"Why don't you go help get TJ ready?" she said, and the little girl nodded.

"Kay!" she said, running across the hall. Beckett could see her run and jump on the bed next to her twin sister. Sighing, Detective Beckett walked over to her now messed up closet, and shuffled through the dresses that were still hanging up.

After she had chosen and put on her plain black dress, she combed her hair through, and took her bangs and pinned them back, leaving the rest of her hair to hang on her shoulders.

Five minutes later, when the detective walked across the hall, TJ was all dressed her hair combed straight, but had a white clip holding some hair that fell in her face to the side, and Johanna had a pair of shiny black shoes on. Smiling, she walked over to her husband.

"Good job." she said, patting him on the shoulder.

"We all ready to go?" he asked. The two year old girls nodded quickly, and jumped off the bed.

"Wexi!" TJ said, as she ran out of the room, Jo following her moments after. Castle took a deep breath before following them, Beckett following shortly after.

When the detective caught up with her family, they were already at the door, the twins trying to figure out how to open it.

"Alright, calm down." she said, grabbing her jacket off the hook next to the door, and putting it on. "You need your jackets." she said, grabbing two white jackets, and tossing one to Castle. She bent down, and put a jacket on Torri Jayde, after doing the zipper up halfway, she stood up straight, and grabbed her bag off the counter.

"Now we're ready to go." She said, opening the door, and Castle grabbing his keys off the table next to the door. Grabbing the little girls' hands, she walked out the door, and to the exit of the building.

When they reached the busy streets of New York, she bent down and picked up one of the girls', Castle doing the same. They walked around the building, to where the plain black car was parked.

They buckled the girls in, and then took their seats in the front. It was the middle of September, so it was a little chilly, so Kate turned on the heat.

"Why did you turn on the heat?" Castle asked, as they pulled out of the parking garage.

"So they don't get cold." She said, leaning back in her seat. She rested her arm on the door, twirling her hair around her hand.

"It's not that cold." Castle said.

"Maybe to you." She replied, looking out the window.

Castle shook his head, not replying. He didn't want to argue about turning on the heat in the car.

After about a five minute drive, they arrived at the restaurant where they were going to meet Alexis and Ashley. Castle parked the car, taking the key out of the ignitaion as he opened the door. Beckett got out of the car, taking a deep breath as she did. Closing her door, she walked back, and opened the rear door, taking out Torri.

"Wexi! Wexi!" the two twins chanted as Castle and Beckett closed the doors of the car. As they walked away, Castle hit the button on the remote that locked the car.

They walked inside, where Alexis and Ashley were waiting. Alexis was in a beautiful white one-shoulder dress, with gold heels to match the gold accents on her dress.

"Dad! Kate!" Alexis said, standing up. Giving them both a hug. "Hey Torri!" she said, as she knelt down to her height, smiling.

"Wexi!" TJ cried, and threw herself at the redhead. Everyone laughed, as Jo tried to get Castle to let go of her hand. Alexis stood up straight, and walked over to Jo.

"Hey, Jo-jo." She whispered, as she bent down and picked the little girl up.

"Wexis! Johanna said excitedly, clapping her hands. Kate smiled, picking up Torri.

"'Shley!" Torri cried, reaching towards Ashley.

"Hey, TJ." he said, waving.

"'Shley!" she said again, still reaching for him.

"I think she wants you to hold her." Castle said. Ashley nodded, and walked over, taking Torri Jayde from Kate.

"I think we should eat now." Alexis suggested. Nodding, everyone followed her to the table they had their things at. As they walked, Castle put his arm around Beckett's waist.

Sitting down at the table, Torri and Johanna sat on the ends in the high-chairs that were set up for them.

After about five minutes of talking and looking over the menu's, a waitress walked up to them. "Hello, I'm Nicole, and I'll be your server this evening." She looked to be about seventeen, and had a short choppy haircut. Her hair was a blonde color, with brown on the bottom.

"Have you guys decided on what you wanted to eat?" She asked. They nodded, and Alexis started ordering.

"I'll have the chicken alfredo, with a dinner salad. And, a glass of water, please." The waitress nodded, writing down the order. Ashley and Kate ordered the same.

"I'll have the country-fried chicken, with a dinner salad." Castle said, handing his menus across the table to Nicole.

"And for these two?" she asked, gesturing with her pen to the twins.

"Uhm, just a kids Alfredo will do for both, and some juice." Castle said with a smile.

"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks in a few minutes." the waitress said with a smile as she turned on her heel and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys! Here's chapter three. I think it's the longest yet, but I'm not 100% sure, I'll have to go back and do word counts without the authors notes... But I'm too lazy right now. **

**Disclaimer: Me no be Andrew Marlowe. My brain is too stupid to come up with such awesome plots and things. Nothing that you recognize is mine.**

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><p>The dinner between the Castle's went smoothly, without any real surprises to the majority of them, except the Richard Castle of the group seemed to be a little shocked when Alexis said that she and Ashley had chosen to get married. Well, it wasn't really shock, but it was more of, he didn't want to believe that his little girl was old enough to be getting married. Personally, he thought that almost twenty was too young.<p>

After they had parted for the evening, Alexis left to go to her apartment uptown, and Ashley left to catch his flight back for his last semester of school, and the four Castle's went back to their loft.

"Hey, Rick?" Kate said later that evening to Castle as they sat in the living room, eating ice cream with the girls.

"Hm?" he responded he took a bite of his Chocolate ice cream.

"We never talked about how it went with Torri today." She said, as let Johanna have some of her ice cream.

"That's right.." Castle stood up, and walked over to the counter, setting his bowl down.

"I understand why you couldn't come, I just wish you had. It would have been so much easier on us both right now." Castle put his hands on the counter. the Detective got the feeling that something was wrong, so she stood up, and walked over, setting her bowl down. She put her hand on his back, and let her hair fall over her shoulder as she looked at his face. He looked so upset, so broken.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the counter. "They think that it's Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They have to take her in for a few more tests to be sure, next week." Kate could tell that he was fighting back tears. For eight months they had cared for Torri and Johanna. Even if they weren't their own blood, like Alexis was Rick's, they still loved them both, and to have one of them possibly have something that serious, was heartbreaking.

"Oh." Beckett said, pursing her lips. She felt the tears come to her eyes. Her husband stood up straight, and pulled her into his chest. She felt the comfort that she needed, but it wasn't enough. The tears still fell from her eyes. After about two minutes, she pulled herself away, and looked up at him. Their faces were both stained with tears.

"We need to get them ready for bed. I'm going to take the day off work tomorrow.. and we can do something together. Go to the park, or the zoo or something." Kate said, as she picked up Torri.

"Come one, TJ. We're gonna get ready for bed." She said to the little girl, as she walked up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, the girls were changed and in their beds, and Castle and Beckett were sitting on the couch, looking up the odds that would be in favor of their daughter.

"85%.." Kate whispered, as Rick closed the computer.

"Those odds are really good." Rick said, pulling his wife into his side.

"Yes, but there still is the 15% that isn't in the survival rate. " Kate said with a sigh. She didn't want to think about those odds, but being a detective, she had to consider every option there was, like it or not, it was there.

"We'll get through this. It might be hard, but the four of use, we're strong people." she heard her husband say.

"You're right. The odds are in our favor, after all." She said with a smile, giving Castle a kiss on his cheek before standing up. "I'm gonna go to bed." She said, running her hand through her long brown hair.

"Alright. I'm gonna write a little bit, and then I'll be up." he said, and then turned back to his laptop. Kate nodded, and walked over to the doorway, before turning on her heel.

"Hey." she said, resting her hand on the doorframe.

"Hm?" Castle responded, not looking up.

"I thought that I should remind you that I love you." she said with a smile, and before he could respond she continued. "Night." She turned back around, and walked into their room, curling up in her bed, she let herself cry, but only for a minute.

The next morning, Kate awoke around her usual time, about 7:30. Pursing her lips, she combed her hair back into a bun, and walked into the kitchen, deciding to make some breakfast for her family.

Half an hour later, she had made eggs and french-toast, and walked upstairs to get Johanna and Torri up. Walking in their room, a ton of emotions fled over her at once, and she couldn't decide if she was more happy or sad.

It was difficult picking both girls up at once, because they were getting so big, and bending over the bars of the crib with one girl in her arm wasn't the easiest thing ever. After she had managed to get both girls fully awake, she set them down on the floor, and they walked down the stairs.

"Hey, I have an idea." She said, as the got to the foot of the stairs. Bending down to their height, she whispered something to them. Nodding excitedly, they ran off. Kate followed them, her arms crossed over her chest. She got to the doorway of her room, and leaned against it, watching her two girls jump up and down on the bed.

"FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!" they chanted. Kate smiled as Rick sat up.

"Alright. Alright. I get up and cook for you guys." He said. Kate turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the orange juice out of the fridge. As she set it on the counter, she saw the brunette twin girl run in and try to climb up on the stools at the counter. A minute later, she saw her husband walk, yawning.

"I cooked." she stated with a smile. She walked around the counter helping the girls on the stools. She scooped some eggs and put a piece of french toast on their plates.

"It looks good." Castle said grabbing a piece of french toast and dipping it in the bowl of powdered sugar next to the plate, and taking a bite. "Tastes good, too."

Kate poured the girls some orange juice in their red sippy-cups, and set them in front their plates. "Hey, would you mind cleaning the girls up and getting them dressed while I go take a shower?" she asked, wiping her hands off with a dish cloth.

"Not at all." Castle said, taking a bite of eggs. Kate nodded, and walked to the stairs. "I'll be about fifteen minutes" she said, walking up the stairs.

The dinner between the Castle's went smoothly, without any real surprises to the majority of them, except the Richard Castle of the group seemed to be a little shocked when Alexis said that she and Ashley had chosen to get married. Well, it wasn't really shock, but it was more of, he didn't want to believe that his little girl was old enough to be getting married. Personally, he thought that almost twenty was too young.

After they had parted for the evening, Alexis left to go to her apartment uptown, and Ashley left to catch his flight back for his last semester of school, and the four Castle's went back to their loft.

"Hey, Rick?" Kate said later that evening to Castle as they sat in the living room, eating ice cream with the girls.

"Hm?" he responded he took a bite of his Chocolate ice cream.

"We never talked about how it went with Torri today." She said, as let Johanna have some of her ice cream.

"That's right.." Castle stood up, and walked over to the counter, setting his bowl down.

"I understand why you couldn't come, I just wish you had. It would have been so much easier on us both right now." Castle put his hands on the counter. the Detective got the feeling that something was wrong, so she stood up, and walked over, setting her bowl down. She put her hand on his back, and let her hair fall over her shoulder as she looked at his face. He looked so upset, so broken.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the counter. "They think that it's Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They have to take her in for a few more tests to be sure, next week." Kate could tell that he was fighting back tears. For eight months they had cared for Torri and Johanna. Even if they weren't their own blood, like Alexis was Rick's, they still loved them both, and to have one of them possibly have something that serious, was heartbreaking.

"Oh." Beckett said, pursing her lips. She felt the tears come to her eyes. Her husband stood up straight, and pulled her into his chest. She felt the comfort that she needed, but it wasn't enough. The tears still fell from her eyes. After about two minutes, she pulled herself away, and looked up at him. Their faces were both stained with tears.

"We need to get them ready for bed. I'm going to take the day off work tomorrow.. and we can do something together. Go to the park, or the zoo or something." Kate said, as she picked up Torri.

"Come one, TJ. We're gonna get ready for bed." She said to the little girl, as she walked up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, the girls were changed and in their beds, and Castle and Beckett were sitting on the couch, looking up the odds that would be in favor of their daughter.

"85%.." Kate whispered, as Rick closed the computer.

"Those odds are really good." Rick said, pulling his wife into his side.

"Yes, but there still is the 15% that isn't in the survival rate. " Kate said with a sigh. She didn't want to think about those odds, but being a detective, she had to consider every option there was, like it or not, it was there.

"We'll get through this. It might be hard, but the four of use, we're strong people." she heard her husband say.

"You're right. The odds are in our favor, after all." She said with a smile, giving Castle a kiss on his cheek before standing up. "I'm gonna go to bed." She said, running her hand through her long brown hair.

"Alright. I'm gonna write a little bit, and then I'll be up." he said, and then turned back to his laptop. Kate nodded, and walked over to the doorway, before turning on her heel.

"Hey." she said, resting her hand on the doorframe.

"Hm?" Castle responded, not looking up.

"I thought that I should remind you that I love you." she said with a smile, and before he could respond she continued. "Night." She turned back around, and walked into their room, curling up in her bed, she let herself cry, but only for a minute.

The next morning, Kate awoke around her usual time, about 7:30. Pursing her lips, she combed her hair back into a bun, and walked into the kitchen, deciding to make some breakfast for her family.

Half an hour later, she had made eggs and french-toast, and walked upstairs to get Johanna and Torri up. Walking in their room, a ton of emotions fled over her at once, and she couldn't decide if she was more happy or sad.

It was difficult picking both girls up at once, because they were getting so big, and bending over the bars of the crib with one girl in her arm wasn't the easiest thing ever. After she had managed to get both girls fully awake, she set them down on the floor, and they walked down the stairs.

"Hey, I have an idea." She said, as the got to the foot of the stairs. Bending down to their height, she whispered something to them. Nodding excitedly, they ran off. Kate followed them, her arms crossed over her chest. She got to the doorway of her room, and leaned against it, watching her two girls jump up and down on the bed.

"FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!" they chanted. Kate smiled as Rick sat up.

"Alright. Alright. I get up and cook for you guys." He said. Kate turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the orange juice out of the fridge. As she set it on the counter, she saw the brunette twin girl run in and try to climb up on the stools at the counter. A minute later, she saw her husband walk, yawning.

"I cooked." she stated with a smile. She walked around the counter helping the girls on the stools. She scooped some eggs and put a piece of french toast on their plates.

"It looks good." Castle said grabbing a piece of french toast and dipping it in the bowl of powdered sugar next to the plate, and taking a bite. "Tastes good, too."

Kate poured the girls some orange juice in their red sippy-cups, and set them in front their plates. "Hey, would you mind cleaning the girls up and getting them dressed while I go take a shower?" she asked, wiping her hands off with a dish cloth.

"Not at all." Castle said, taking a bite of eggs. Kate nodded, and walked to the stairs. "I'll be about fifteen minutes" she said, walking up the stairs.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: Hm.. I don't like where I ended this at all. But if I ended it where I wanted to, then it would be super short, and if I kept going, it would be super long. So, you're going to have to deal with where I left it off. Sorry. Anyway...<strong>

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE CRACK TO ME. Wait, that's not right. How about I say the cliche "reviews motivate me to write"? Well, it's true. But not only reviews, story alerts and favorites are just as good. I love when I know people like my stuff enough that they want to read more! **

**Well, be back later with more. .**

**xoxo: Kota. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: **

Hey everyone, I'm back! I didn't even realize that it had been so long since I've updated. I haven't had a ton of time to actually sit down and write, but I have been working on this chapter here and there. I wrote the majority of it on a train on the way writing workshop I went to about a week ago, and it was a great workshop. I did get watched pretty much the entire time I was writing this. The guy was kinda creepy. So, If your a creepy old guy and you are reading this, and it sounds familiar, it's probably because you were the one who was reading this over my shoulder as I wrote it.

Oh, and I've changed the name of the story to "What we do for family."

Also, I have a oneshot I've been working on, based on Stevie Wonders "Isn't She Lovely".

I'm also Beta-less, so all mistakes belong to me. [/insert smile]

**Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry. **

After a short cab ride, the four members of the Castle house-hold arrived at the Central Park Zoo. It was slightly chilly outside due to the slight breeze. It was nothing that wasn't expected, seeing that it was around mid-october.

Kate held Johanna tight against her hip as she weaved through the groups of tourists standing outside the Zoo's gates. It wasn't anything new, in fact, it always happened in New York, but for some reason it always annoyed the young Detective.

When they got inside the zoo, and the groups of people seemed to spread themselves out, Kate set Johanna down so that she could walk for a little bit. The young girl grabbed her twin sister's hand, and the small family started their walk around the zoo.

Torri was the first one to get tired of walking, so Castle picked her up, setting her on his shoulders. Shortly after, Johanna started to whine, so Beckett picked her up, resting her on her hip. As they continued walking, the girls took there time watching the animals, spending an extra long time watching the monkey's(Kate assumed that this was because she would sometimes call her husband "Writer Monkey").

As the day drew to a close, the family was standing against the railing, watching some penguins swim around in their water whole, talking about what they'd want for dinner.

"We could do Chinese, or Pizza, or Burgers, or we can go cook something, or, what sounds good?" Richard asked, more to Kate then to the girls, who were so caught up in watching the water-birds.

"Hm. Pizza sounds good, and the girls like it." Kate replied as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Pizza it is, then." Castle said with a nod.

"As always, none of the Nick's places." Kate said, as she turned around and started walking towards the exit.

"Stefano's?" Rick suggested.

"That's all the way across the bridge, though."

"And? We haven't gone in a while"

"We could always try to make a pizza." Kate said with a shrug.

"Hmm.. I haven't done that since Alexis was Fifteen."

"So, five years? Think it's time to do it again? The girls would love it."

"Alright. You can take them home, I'll run to the store and get the stuff we need." Castle said with a nod. Johanna let out a yawn, resting her head on her Mom's shoulder. They walked out of the zoo, Castle helped the three girls into the cab and, then started to walk towards a small store just a few blocks away.

Half an hour later, Johanna was asleep on the couch, and Torri was falling asleep on Kate's lap while watching her current favorite show of the week, "Ni Hao Kai-Lan." Kate ran a hand through the girls hair, enjoying the fact that everything was fine right now. She knew that there was a chance that everything wouldn't be fine come the next day when they had to take TJ for her examinations, but she held out her hope for her adoptive daughter. She loved this girl with everything she had, and she wasn't going to let the fact that she'd only had her for a few months change that fact.

Castle walked through the door, holding two green re-usable shopping bags. He set them on the counter, and started pulling the items out of them, humming loudly.

"You do know that Jo is asleep right?" the Detective said, as she looked over her shoulder. She took Torri off her lap and set her on the couch, and then stood up. She put her hands in the pockets of the black jacket that she was wearing as she walked over to the counter, helping take the things out of the bag.

"So, it's almost six, I figure we let Jo sleep for fifteen more minutes, then wake her up so that she can sit on the counter with Tee while we cook?" Castle said, glancing over his shoulder at the clock as he spoke, just to make sure that he had said the right time.

"Mhm." Kate replied with a nod, putting the juice Rick bought in the fridge. She pursed her lips and walked the other side of the counter, sitting on one of the stools. "I can't stop thinking about tomorrow." she said, resting her elbow on the counter, and putting her head in her hand.

"I know, I can't either. I'm just so worried that something will be wrong."

"I lost my Mom, almost lost my Dad, I can't loose her, too." Beckett whispered sadly, pulling herself up straight, looking down at her lap.

"You won't. We aren't going to loose her, she's going to be fine. The odds are in our favor, and, we can afford the best treatment for her." He walked over to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. He pushed her hair behind her ear, and she looked up at him with a teary-smile.

[ - - - ]

"Hey, Jojo." The detective said as she sat down next to the two-year old who was sleeping on the black couch. "Time to wake up, hun." she said, brushing the hair behind the small girls ear. She began to squirm, and Kate picked her up, despite the young girls whining.

Torri sat on the counter, banging a wooden spoon against the sink as Castle danced in circles. Beckett set Johanna down on the counter next to her twin sister, and then turned around to the fridge to take out the pizza dough that she had mixed when she first had first gotten home. Because Castle wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing, he had run into the door of the refrigerator, causing all three girls in the kitchen to laugh at him.

Rubbing his side, Castle shook his head and closed the door. "Alright, alright. I think we've had enough of that." he walked over to Torri and took the spoon from her, causing her to start whining.

"Hey, none of that." Kate said as she set the bowl down on the counter, bending down to the pan cupboard and taking the pizza pan out. When she stood up, she ruffled TJ's hair. "You hungry?" She asked, and received a sad nod in return.

"Good." Kate said, setting the pan down. She turned the bowl upside down, getting a glop of dough on the counter.

"Hey Jo..." Castle said, walking over to the small brunette who was sitting on the counter, playing with an empty jar. "I bet we can make a better pizza then Momma and TJ." he said picking her up and moving her to the other side of the counter, where he sat on a stool.

"You have to make a competition out of everything, don't you?" Kate asked, cutting the pile of dough in half.

"Yes, Yes I do." was all he replied with. He began straight to work, Johanna trying to help, but it was obvious that she was just getting in the way of him trying to make his pizza crust perfect.

"Come on, TJ. We've got to make a better pizza." She said seriously to the other girl, who nodded, a smile on her face.

Ten minutes later, they had finished their crusts, Kate an TJ's wasn't as thin, but it looked more like a pizza crust than Castle and Jo's, who simply had a perfect circle. Kate reached over to the cupboard, taking out the jars Spaghetti and tomato sauce

"Our pizza sauce is going to dominate yours." Kate said with a gloating smile as she set to work opening the jars and pouring them in a small white bowl she had on the counter. She put various spices in with half a jar of spaghetti sauce and two jars of tomato sauce, and then ladled it onto her pizza, making sure that it was spread evenly.

When she finished, she looked over to TJ, who was sticking her fingers in the remaining sauce. She chuckled, and took the bowl away. She took a red dish towel out from under the sink and wiped the girls hands off as she watched her husband make his sauce, which was just tomato sauce, garlic salt, and some italian seasoning.

Kate grabbed the bowl of cheese, handing it to Torri Jayde. "Here, put the cheese on the pizza crust." she told her, and the young girl started throwing the cheese onto the crust, only half of it actually going on the crust. Beckett started rearranging the cheese so that it covered the whole crust. When she took the bowl away from the girl, Torri started clapping and she had a smile on her face.

"You like helping? Alright, well, you can put these mushrooms on." she handed her a box of mushrooms, and pointed to where they should go. After they finished with the mushrooms, she asked where she wanted her to put the slices of pepperoni, and putting them there.

"Done?" TJ asked, and Kate nodded, sticking the pizza in the oven, and looked up at Castle, who was having Johanna put ham in specific places.

"HEY! You can't look yet! We aren't done!" Castle said when he saw her looking.

"Sorry, sorry." she replied, putting her hands up and turning around.

[ - - - ]

About twenty minutes later, the timer in the kitchen went off, and they walked in to get the pizza's out. Well, Rick did. He volunteered to take the pizza's out if Kate got the girls settled in their seats, which she happily did.

"Pizza number one, belongs to Mom and TJ." Castle said putting the pizza pan on the cooling rack in front of them, and quickly turned around to the oven, grabbing the other pizza out of the hot oven.

"and pizza number two, mine and Jo's. Which is the best." He put it down on the second cooling rack, right in front of Kate, who looked at it. It had mushrooms and ham, and instead of just having the topping thrown on them, they were arranged so that it had a pattern, which sort of resembled a face. She chuckled.

"It looks good." she stood up and walked down two seats to where Johanna was sitting, and kissed the top of her head. "Good job, Jo."

Castle cut the pizza, putting a slice on a plate and setting it aside to cool more for the girls. He pulled out four plastic cups out of the cupboard above him, pouring orange juice in two of them, and coke in two others.

"It isn't pizza without a coke." he told Kate as he slide a cup over to her.

[ - - - ]

After they had eaten, they took the girls upstairs, giving them a quick bath, and dressing them in matching blue pajamas. Tucking them into bed, Castle turned on the night light by their dresser, closing the door as he walked out. He put his arm around Beckett's shoulder, and walked the stairs with her.

They sat on the couch, turning on the TV to the Nightly News, settling back into the couch. It only took half an hour for the detective to decide that she was tired enough to head to bed. Kissing her husband, she stood up, and walked into their room, changing into sweats and collapsing into the bed. Soon after, she was fast asleep.


End file.
